SUPPORT SMALL BIZ

Texas ranks No. 2 best state to start a business in new report

“Entrepreneurship is driven by the desire for independence,” Capital on Tap COO Damian Brychcy said.

Creating a small business might be daunting, but new research shows starting it in Texas is one of the best decisions you can make to follow your passion.

Business credit card experts Capital on Tap determined Texas is the second best state to start a small business, right after Florida. They retrieved their data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics based on several factors, including new firm survival rates, corporate tax rates, the number of entrepreneurs per state, and more.

Texas has very friendly tax frameworks when it comes to small businesses; it is one of five total states that don’t impose any income tax. Furthermore, all Texas businesses that make less than $1.08 million in revenue don’t owe any franchise tax. That also includes all businesses that have less than $1,000 in tax liability.

If a small business owner in Texas needed to take out a loan, they’d be able to secure $4,811 per employee, which is the fifth-highest average loan amount in a calculation of all 50 states.

Capital on Tap COO Damian Brychcy says in a release that the decision to start a small business involves assessing several factors and risks, but he hopes his team’s research can provide future guidance for businesses and entrepreneurs no matter where they reside.

“Entrepreneurship is driven by the desire for independence,” he says. “This includes the freedom to pursue your passion, choose your workplace and working hours, and foster personal growth.”

Florida earned its top spot in the report due to its strong support of local economies with the highest number of jobs created by start-ups per 1,000 residents in the state. However, unlike Texas, Florida small businesses have to pay a 5.5 percent corporate tax rate.

The top states that are the best places to start a small business include:

No. 1 – Florida
No. 2 – Texas
No. 3 – Idaho
No. 4 – Nevada
No. 5 – North Carolina
No. 6 – Colorado
No. 7 – Washington
No. 8 – Georgia
No. 9 – California and Montana (tied)
No. 10 – Utah

Texas regularly appears near the top of lists of business-friendly states. It ranked third in personal finance website WalletHub's January report, 2023's Best & Worst States to Start a Business. In February, Texas was named fifth best state for women entrepreneurs in Merchant Maverick’s annual ranking.

Small business owners reports small businesses texas texas businesses

cyber commute

Frisco tops 2026 list of U.S. cities with the most remote workers

Photo by Unsplash

Remote work really is all that and a bag of chips.

North Dallas neighbor Frisco has landed atop a 2026 list of U.S. cities with the most remote workers for the second consecutive year, and an up-and-coming McKinney has surged into the top 10.

The personal finance experts at SmartAsset compared the 357 largest U.S. cities based on the percentage of people who work from home, and additionally calculated the mean commute times for non-remote workers in each city. Remote work prevalence was analyzed using U.S. Census data from 2023-2024.

The findings revealed a third of all employees based in Frisco work remotely, with more than 42,000 remote workers as of 2024. However, the city's remote work prevalence is slightly lower than it was the year before.

"Frisco remains the top city for remote work with 33.7 percent of workers aged 16 and up working from home, despite a slight decline from 34.2 percent a year earlier," the report said.

Frisco residents that don't have the privilege of working remotely spend about 27.3 minutes on average commuting to their workplaces, SmartAsset added. Over 63 percent of Frisco workers drive to their jobs, and less than one percent walk to work.

In McKinney, the prevalence of remote workers in the city surged from 24.2 percent in 2023 to 26.7 percent in 2024. The report additionally found there were 32,798 residents working remotely in McKinney in 2024.

McKinney workers also spend more time commuting than Frisco residents do. The average commute time for in-person work in the city added up to 31.8 minutes. Nearly 70 percent of workers drive to their jobs, and .69 percent report that they walk to work.

Nationally, remote work has declined as more employers push return-to-office mandates, according to SmartAsset. But new reports have indicated these mandates are backfiring as more people seek employment at companies that embrace and prioritize flexible working environments.

"Remote work can open up a lot of opportunities for employees, families, and employers alike," the report's author wrote. "However, shifts into remote work may also cause short-term challenges to some communities – such as loss or redistribution of businesses and services used by commuters."

For remote workers in Dallas-Fort Worth, there's a greater financial incentive to work remote than to commute. An April 2025 U.S. Census Bureau study determined remote workers in the Metroplex earn nearly 51 percent more than their commuting counterparts. Dallas-area remote workers made a median income of $77,000 in 2023, compared to $51,100 for other workers.

"Tradeoffs abound, tracking the evolution of work culture and where the spoils of productivity end up can provide guidance to businesses, politicians, job-seekers, and employers alike," the report said.

The top 10 U.S. cities with the most prevalent remote workforces are:

No. 1 – Frisco, Texas
No. 2 – Berkeley, California
No. 3 – Cary, North Carolina
No. 4 – Boulder, Colorado
No. 5 – Scottsdale, Arizona
No. 6 – Arlington, Virginia
No. 7 – McKinney, Texas
No. 8 – Fishers, Indiana
No. 9 – Boca Raton, Florida
No. 10 – Carlsbad, California

frisco mckinney suburbs remote work innovation smartasset